The Fifth of July
by Mittens no Hikari
Summary: Serenity's looking forward to the fireworks and to spending time with Yugi. But if something prevents her from going, can Yugi save her Fourth of July?
1. The Thirtieth of June

A/N: Hello, hello! This is just a little snippet of a story that fluttered into my head a few days back. Please review, regardless of your opinion of my writing—advice and criticism, both good and bad, are always appreciated!

Disclaimer: Honestly, I think you've figured it out by this point.

**The Fifth of July**

_ A holiday romance_

Chapter One: The Thirtieth of June

* * *

"So explain it to me one more time... what's this whole "Fourth of July" thing got to do with Japan?" Téa's voice was skeptical, her blue eyes unimpressed with Joey's explanations thus far and her arms folded in a posture that clearly communicated, "Try me." 

"I _told_ ya, Téa. It's a holiday from the U.S. of A. across the—" Joey paused for a moment, frowning. "Y'know, the really big one... the—"

"It's the Pacific Ocean, dummy," Tristan cut in, slapping him on the back of the head and sending him onto the pavement facedown. "What, did you fail elementary school geography or something, or are you just a moron in general?"

"Who're you callin' a moron?" Joey snapped, gingerly rubbing the back of his skull as he removed his face from the asphault, a murderous look in his eyes. "I was _thinkin'_ of it, all right?"

"It's all right, Joey," Bakura said, an amused smile creeping onto his pale face and into his dark eyes in spite of his best efforts to remain sympathetic to his currently horizontal friend's plight. "I've never been fond of geography myself."

"Neither have I," chimed in Yugi loyally, though his face, too, was bright with barely-suppressed laughter. "I could never keep all the countries straight."

"Yeah, but at least you two aren't under the impression that the island nation just south of Greenland is _Hawaii_," said Tristan, mussing Joey's hair as if the teen were a three-year-old being praised for _almost_ knowing his ABCs.

"Cut it out!" Joey snarled, swatting Tristan's hand away and shooting him a venomous glare. "I was in fifth grade, okay?"

"Not true, Joey," Téa put in, raising one eyebrow skeptically. "I saw that test. You were a high school sophomore."

"Whatever!" Joey burst out, his face red. "Anyway—as I was sayin' before I was so rudely interrupted..." he glared daggers at Tristan. "The fourth a' July is the American independence day. They got free a' Norway or something."

"It was Great Britain, Joey," Bakura offered tentatively.

Joey loftily ignored him. "Now they celebrate their independence every year on the same day—July 4th—and they shoot off all kinds a' firecrackers and rockets and stuff, and they have parades, and barbecues—"

"Ah, _now_ we get to the real reason Joey's excited," Serenity teased, grinning as her big brother bestowed the 'shut-up-you're-making-me-look-stupid' look on her.

"But that still doesn't explain why Japan should celebrate too," pointed out Téa logically. "I mean, don't get me wrong—it sounds like fun. I just don't quite get the connection."

"It's for the Domino multi-cultural club or some organization like that," Bakura volunteered. "They've already held a Mexican _Cinco de Mayo_ celebration, and they're talking about a full-out celebration come Chinese New Year. It's to promote global unity or something of the like."

Yugi's violet eyes sparkled. "It sounds like fun," he murmured, turning his face to the sky with a barely audible sigh. Serenity let her gaze slide over to the profile that she knew so well. _Wait... that had the distinctly flowery sound of one of those cheesy drugstore romances. Do I really want to go down that path?_ She considered briefly. _Ah, what the heck. Let's give it a go. Annnnd... commence overly ornate language! _She loved every bit of the boy at whom she was now staring unabashedly. The shadows his lashes cast on his cheeks; the golden bangs that tickled his nose; the way the corners of his mouth turned up slightly when he was trying not to laugh; the—

_Okay. Okay, I'm done. That was getting embarrassing, and no one else could even_ hear _me. I could get really disturbing if I don't watch myself._

"Serenity?"

She blinked suddenly. Yugi was looking at her curiously, his head tilted to one side. And he wasn't the only one. Joey, Téa, Tristan, and Bakura all had identical expressions on their faces. Serenity bit her tongue, feeling her face begin to heat up. _Great. By now I'm glowing like a radioactive tomato, and I_ still _have to explain why I stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at Yugi's face like I was catatonic._ She shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. "Um..." _This would be easier if I knew what to say._

There was a long, embarrassed silence. Then Joey, with some difficulty, cleared his throat. "So... um... how 'bout them fireworks?"

* * *

Mai Valentine stopped brushing her long mane of blonde hair in mid-stroke and turned around, studying Serenity as if trying to determine whether she was serious. "He's taking you to the _fireworks_? Serenity, you do realize what this means, correct?"

Serenity blinked. "Um... Mai, we've been boyfriend and girlfriend for a long time now." _So long that—thank God—I can say the words 'boyfriend and girlfriend' without my face heating up about twelve degrees._

Mai shook back her hair and sighed, regarding Serenity with an air that was both maternal and pitying. "Serenity, anyone who's ever been in a serious relationship knows that a couple at the fireworks is a big step. It's kind of like a declaration of passion."

"Of _what_?" Serenity squeaked, her voice changing quite suddenly from alto to soprano.

Mai pursed her lips and shook her head. "You're almost as clueless as your brother," she informed the younger girl. "Have you ever seen fireworks?"

"No." _Mom never took me when I was little, and since we moved to Domino, I've never even thought about it._ "I mean, I've seen pictures, so I know what they are," she hastened to add.

"Then think about it." Mai put a long, manicured finger to her temple and tapped it conspiratorially. "The rocket is lit on fire... it smolders for who knows how long... and then all of the sudden—" she snapped her fingers inches from Serenity's nose. "A beautiful, fiery explosion."

"Fiery...?" Serenity repeated helplessly, beginning to sweat. "I... I'd never thought of Yugi and me as being fiery or explosive..."

Mai shrugged one shoulder and turned back to the mirror. "Hey, I could be wrong, kiddo, but that's what experience has taught me."

Serenity blinked again. Without another word, she turned and slipped out the door.

She had some research to do.

* * *

Serenity threw aside the sixteenth paperback novel and sighed, massaging a crick in her neck. It appeared that Mai, as bizarre as the notion had sounded at first, was correct. Every single one of the novels that featured fireworks did so as a means of bringing about a confession of love.

But... she glanced down at the cover of one of the books. Not all of them sounded as... well... dangerous as Mai had made it sound. Basically, all that happened was that the fireworks went off and as soon as there was a lull in the noise—apparently there'd be a _lot_ of noise—the guy leaned over and whispered how much he loved the girl. Then they'd snuggle or hold hands and watch as the fireworks filled the sky with—what was it? She flipped through the pages until she found the passage she was looking for. Oh, yes. As the fireworks filled the sky "with a golden rain of glittering flames that seemed to announce to the world the presence of two people hopelessly and passionately in love."

That wouldn't be so bad. _Actually,_ she admitted to herself, gathering up the books in her arms and holding them in place with her chin as she crossed the library to the racks where the romance novels were kept, _it sounds kind of nice._

She finished putting the books back and felt a smile cross her face.

She couldn't wait for the Fourth of July.

_To be continued..._

_

* * *

_

There'll be two more chapters. Let me know where (if anywhere) you'd like to see this go, or if you think I should forget it and click-and-drag it to that Recycling Bin that lurks on my desktop.

Until later,

The Authoress


	2. The Third of July

A/N: A million thanks to **DJ Rodriguez**, **serenity-yugioh-fan05**, and **Zekintha**. I'll admit I was discouraged at the low review count—but hey, if I know that at least one person out there is enjoying what I write, it makes it worth it.

Disclaimer: Get it? Got it? Good.

**The Fifth of July **

_A holiday romance_

Chapter Two: The Third of July

Serenity narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, studying the orange aerosol can she held in her hand. "KEEPS BUGS FAR AWAY!" screamed the lurid purple text that curved around the can's metallic surface, accompanied by a picture of a dead mosquito.

"Charming," Serenity muttered, carefully standing the can back up on the shelf and picking another at random. Turning, she scanned the aisles for Téa and spotted her two rows down, deeply engrossed in the fine print on the back of a tiny package of earplugs she was holding.

"So, Téa, what do you think?" Serenity asked, her voice and face purposely engineered to appear deep in thought. "Do we need bug spray or will we be all right without any? This could make or break the evening, so please give it a lot of thought."

The dark-haired girl glanced up, her blue eyes amused. "Depends on how much you enjoy having tiny insects suck your blood," she deadpanned, giving her younger friend a wink.

Serenity giggled. "Well, when you put it that way..." she admitted, tilting her head to one side as she studied the can she'd brought with her. She wrinkled her nose. "It sounds disgusting, though."

"Oh, it smells," came Mai's voice from behind her. Serenity and Téa both turned to look at the tall blonde woman, who was standing with one hand on her hip and a small smile on her perfectly-made-up face. She tossed her long mane of blonde hair and winked, putting a finger to her lips. "But then, Serenity, you've lived with Joey all your life, so you're used to it. You'll be just fine."

"Hey!" Joey snarled, poking his head around a rack at the end of the aisle, the look on his face indicating quite clearly that he did not appreciate that remark. Straightening up and dropping the substantial pile of snack food he was carrying, he took a threatening step forward. "Take that back, Valentine!"

"But Joseph, you must realize that my standards are such that I _never_ take back the truth," Mai said airily, regarding him triumphantly. Without bestowing another glance on him, she traversed the aisle, her heeled boots making a clicking sound on the tiles that announced her departure.

"Thanks a LOT!" Joey shouted after her; Mai didn't bother to turn back around, instead raising a manicured hand in acknowledgment of his protest. As she disappeared around the corner, Joey subsided into growling to himself. Shooting a black look at the last spot he'd seen her, he spat angrily, "This is the thanks I get for invitin' ya to the fireworks?"

"You didn't," came Mai's cool voice from the next aisle over. "_I_ invited _you_, remember?"

This appeared to throw Joey for a loop. His face grew red, and though he opened his mouth, nothing came out. Finally, he sputtered, "Yeah, well... well, this is the thanks I get for sayin' yes?"

"Joey, you _know_ she just wants to get a rise out of you," Yugi said, coming up behind his taller friend with a sympathetic smile on his face that probably would have been a lot more comforting had his violet eyes not sparkled with suppressed laughter.

"Yeah, but why's she gotta be so darn _good_ at it?" Joey griped, returning to the pile of soda, chips, pretzels, popcorn, and pocky that he'd abandoned midway down the aisle.

Serenity took the opportunity to lay her head on Yugi's shoulder. He didn't miss a beat; his hand immediately came up to stroke her chestnut hair. "Thank you, Serenity," he said softly—so softly that at first she wasn't sure if she'd actually heard him.

"Hmm?" she said dazedly. It was all she could make the effort to say, seeing as she was basically too comfortable to move.

"Thanks. For—for agreeing to—I mean, for coming—well, you haven't yet, but for saying that you'd—I mean—for—" Serenity began to shake with silent laughter as she listened to the boy beside her struggle to get his words out, sounding more and more flustered each time he tried to start over.

Serenity opened her sage-green eyes and met Yugi's deep violet ones. "Yugi," she interrupted, feeling her face begin to flush slightly. "You don't have to thank me for saying I'd come with you. There—" she swallowed, her throat drying up slightly. "There's nothing I'd rather do on the Fourth of July."

Yugi closed his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them again and met her stare, Serenity blushed harder. _Oh, shoot... any second now, someone's going to ask me if I have scarlet fever._ It was that look that he gave her sometimes, the one that made her feel like, at least for those few moments, she was the only other person in the world. Then he gently brushed his lips against her cheek, his own face turning steadily more crimson with awkward shyness—though it was nothing compared to the flaming inferno that was currently making its way from Serenity's ears across her face and down her neck. _At this rate, I'm going to give myself a sunburn,_ was the only coherent thought her mind could form.

"Hey!" As one, the two jolted apart, Serenity spinning violently and studying with measured intensity the can of bug spray—though it was rather obvious she wasn't actually reading it, as she was holding it approximately three centimeters from her eyes—and it was upside-down. Yugi, for his part, had searched frantically for something to do with his hands, found nothing immediately and readily available, and was now reading the nutrition facts on a box of corn flakes with beads of sweat forming on his still-red face.

"Chill, guys. It's just me." Tristan held up his hands, looking back and forth between the two with an expression on his face that hovered somewhere between highly amused and completely bewildered. "Serenity, Joey's looking for you. He says your mom's here to talk to you."

At that point, you could have knocked her over with a feather. "At the _drugstore_?"

Tristan nodded. He didn't say a word; in fact, he rather looked like he didn't know _what_ he should say.

Serenity immediately lost all interest in the bug spray. "Oh..." she said lamely, her mind racing. _What could Mom need? I hope nothing bad's happened..._

She felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. Yugi was looking at her, his big eyes worried. "Go ahead, Serenity. You'd better talk to her," he said softly, forcing a small smile.

Serenity nodded automatically and swallowed hard. Slowly at first, and then gradually faster and faster, she moved down the aisle, her hair beginning to swing wildly behind her as she changed gaits from a fast-paced walk to a flat-out run, giving herself one final burst of speed when she caught sight of the familiar head of curly, graying hair and the sensible suit jacket.

Her mother turned as Serenity approached, her worn face set and stoic. Serenity's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. _That's Mom's "You're Going to Hate What I Tell You" look..._ "Mom?" she tried, giving her mother a smile that pleaded for her not to say whatever it was she was planning on saying.

It didn't work. It never did. "Serenity, sweetheart, about the fireworks..." Her mother reached out a hand toward Serenity's shoulder, but seemed to think better of it and just let it hang there in midair. "I know how much you were looking forward to them..."

"Mom? Mom, what's wrong?" Serenity felt an icy chill run down her spine, effectively quenching whatever giddiness had remained from just minutes before.

"I called the doctor today and asked him about the advisability of letting you go. He—well, to put it plainly, Serenity, he was entirely opposed to the idea."

"_What_?" She knew immediately that was far too loud for a public setting; she could feel the curious eyes of the other shoppers on her back. Even the drugstore clerk had looked up from the cash register, trying not to make it too obvious that he was paying attention to the mother-daughter confrontation instead of the roll of paper his register was currently spitting onto the counter.

"I know, sweetie, but you need to look at this from a medical perspective. Your eyes are entirely too sensitive to subject them to a pyrotechnics show so soon after the surgery." Ignoring the angry tears steadily gathering in her daughter's stormy green eyes, Mrs. Wheeler plowed determinedly on. "And after so long depending upon your sense of hearing, your ears simply cannot handle a solid half-hour of explosions."

"But... but Mom..." Serenity could barely speak around the lump in her throat, and her tears were quivering threateningly on her lower lids, too close to spilling over for her comfort. "This would be the first time I'd ever seen fireworks..."

"I know, Serenity, I know. But maybe in a few years—"

"In a few _years_? Yugi asked me to go with him _this_ year!"

"Serenity, I'm sure he'll understand. Your eyes simply aren't ready for such a strain." Mrs. Wheeler's voice was firm and her tone clearly communicated her desire to end the discussion.

Serenity choked back a bitter laugh. "So while everyone else is at the fireworks this year, I have to sit at home?"

Her mother proceeded to misunderstand. "Serenity, I'm certain that if you asked they'd be willing to postpone your group trip to the fireworks for another year or two."

"Mom!" Serenity knew that she was flying off the handle a bit—okay, more than a bit—but this just wasn't fair. "Joey and everyone else will be in college! Who am I supposed to go with? There won't be any group left!"

"Serenity. That is the end of it." Her mother's patience had run out, and she folded her arms, looking at her daughter with unrelenting eyes. "You will not go. In fact, to prevent any foolish actions on your part, you will spend this July fourth at home in your room." Serenity's eyes widened, and the hot tears finally spilled over, but, if anything, this only irked her mother more. "Would you like to make it the next week in July at home as well, young lady?"

Serenity bowed her head, feeling every last iota of hope and anticipation drain out of her. In their place grew a numbness that, at least, didn't hurt. "No, Mother," she whispered.

"I will drive you home. You're far too overwrought to stay out any longer with your friends. You may tell them you're leaving." Mrs. Wheeler turned on her heel and left the shop. If Serenity had been looking, she might have been able to catch a glimpse of the look of pain on her mother's face at having to speak to her daughter that way.

"Serenity...?" She jumped, wiping frantically at her face with her sleeve. Yugi stood behind her, his face gentle and understanding. "Serenity, it's okay. We don't have to go to the fireworks."

She could never explain to herself the reason, but she found herself snapping at him. "You go," she said bitterly, turning away and letting her long chestnut locks cover her tearstained face. "I certainly don't want to ruin anyone's holiday on account of my stupid eyes."

"Serenity—"

"Just _drop it_, all right?" Yugi flinched backwards, a look of stunned pain on his face. It hurt her beyond words to see what effect her words had had on him, but she couldn't stop herself. "I can't go. It's settled. Just take someone else, okay? Don't let me ruin _your_ life, too!"

"Serenity..." he repeated her name once more, reaching his hand out to hers, pleading with her to let him help.

She backpedaled, her head throbbing, heat rushing into her face. "Don't touch me... just leave me alone." She whispered the words, but that didn't make them any less vehement.

There was a silence. When she dared to look up, Yugi was looking away, his face pale. Even if she hadn't known him so well, it wouldn't have been hard to recognize how badly she'd hurt him with those words.

_How stupid can I be? How_ stupid Tears flooded down her face again. "I'm sorry," she managed, before turning and racing from the store, her unhappiness with her mother and horror at her own behavior following her like a stubborn ghost, weighing down her shoulders no matter how fast she tried to run.

_To be continued..._

_

* * *

_

Please review and let me know what you think! One last chapter that should be up on—you guessed it—the fifth of July. But please please please drop me a review or email with constructive criticism of my work—it's the only way I'll get better!

Thanks in advance-

The Authoress 


	3. The Fifth of July

A/N: Thanks so much to **Landi McClellan** and **DJ Rodriguez** for your reviews. DJ, you in particular keep me going, and if there's anything I can do to thank you for that, all you have to do is ask.

This is the final chapter.

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

**The Fifth of July**

_A holiday romance_

Chapter Three: The Fifth of July

Serenity burrowed deeper into her tangled mass of sheets and blankets, willing herself not to hear the knock on her bedroom door. As the knocking grew ever more insistent, she determined extreme measures were necessary and proceeded to secret her head beneath her pillow.

Through her shield of feathers and fabric, she could hear the creak of her door swinging open and her mother's brisk footsteps on the floor. "Serenity?" the muffled voice said in a tone tinged with both frustration and weariness.

There was a long pause. "Serenity, come out from there," the voice sighed in exasperation. Mentally, Serenity debated how long she could pretend not to hear before her mother would get really angry. _Not long enough,_ she realized bitterly, and slowly she extracted her head of tangled chestnut hair from its downy sanctuary.

"Serenity, I realize that you are very disappointed. That is no reason to sulk like a spoiled child."

Serenity recoiled as if she'd been slapped across the face. She'd expected sympathy from her mother—or at the very _least_, a quiet sort of understanding.

"You've already spent the fourth in your room," her mother plowed determinedly on, seeming not to notice her daughter's distress. "And for goodness' sake, Serenity, you've spent most of the fifth moping as well. Don't you think it's time to accept that the fireworks are over for this year and show a bit of maturity?"

_Maturity._ Serenity wasn't sure whether she should laugh or cry. _Does she_ honestly _think the reason I'm this upset is because I missed the fireworks?_

Her mother, who was waiting expectantly, did not take well to what she must have assumed was a defiant silence. "Very well, then," she said shortly, turning away from her daughter. "You can pity yourself as much as you want, but realize this: someday, when your sight and hearing are still intact, you will thank me." She turned on her heel, stalking from Serenity's room and slamming the door.

Serenity barely noticed her mother's departure. She was still trying to rationalize the older woman's angry accusations. _I mean, sure, I'm upset I had to miss the fireworks. Sure, I wish I could have been there with everyone. And yes, if I'd just had to stay home I would have moped a little—but not that much,_ she defended herself mentally.

It wasn't that.

It was the memory of what she'd done afterwards.

_Serenity backpedaled, staying just out of reach of Yugi's hand, her olive-green eyes fastened on the floor, heat rushing into her face. She couldn't explain why she was reacting this way—but she couldn't stop herself, either._

"_Don't touch me... just leave me alone."_

Serenity squeezed her eyes closed, letting her head fall to rest in her hands in pain. _Why_ had she said those things? Why on earth would she have let those words pass her lips? The _last_ thing she wanted was for Yugi to leave her alone.

A thought occurred to her and she smiled cynically. Well, the _second_-to-last thing.

The last thing she wanted was what she was afraid would happen next.

She kept playing the possible scenarios in her mind over and over. She tried to stop them—she really did—but no matter what, her mind proved adept at coming up with all the different ways Yugi could tell her he no longer loved her.

"_Serenity, I've given it a lot of thought, and I think maybe we should both see other people."_

Unconsciously she shook her head. Yugi was too shy and too humble to think about romancing other girls. He wouldn't even think it was possible for him to get another girlfriend, most likely—especially not after she'd hurt him so badly.

"_It's not you, it's me."_

She almost laughed out loud at the thought of Yugi trying out the quintessential break-up line, but then sobered when she remembered the reasons he could have for using just such a line. Whatever he said, though, it wouldn't be that. She was sure of it.

"_I hope we can still be friends."_

No. She'd broken his trust into hundreds of pieces. No way would he ask to remain friends—it would hurt them _both_ too much.

"_We need some time apart."_

Maybe. She could picture him saying that, except... it just sounded so... cold.

"_I need to find myself."_

That time she _did_ laugh out loud. She could no more see Yugi using that as a way to break up with her than she could see her brother using it to break up with Mai.

"That's a good sound to hear."

Serenity jolted, her heart beating wildly. She hadn't realized that her brother had opened the door and slipped in after her mother left. She glanced up at him; his dark eyes were concerned, and he had a gentle sort of smile on his face.

"Haven't heard ya laugh since two days back." Joey stretched and flopped into her chair, letting out a contented sigh.

Serenity drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them. "I wonder why," she said, her voice muffled.

"Serenity." The steel in Joey's voice made her lift her head in surprise. "So ya screwed up. Big deal. Everyone does it." He shrugged one shoulder. "Look at Mai and me. How often has she called me 'stupid' or 'dumb blond' or somethin'?"

"But that's... I don't know... it's different," Serenity said lamely.

Joey fixed her with an intense stare. "Yeah, it's different, but then, you ain't Mai and Yuge ain't me, are ya?" He stretched his arms above his head, letting out a sigh of relief as his back cracked.

Serenity felt tears sting her eyes again. _Of course we're not, but that doesn't mean he can forgive me just like that for what I said._ She winced—she'd relived that memory over and over in the past two days, but the sting never seemed to fade.

"Look, sis," Joey said, sitting forward suddenly, his sneakers connecting with the floor with a thump. "I think you're bein' too hard on yourself—_and_ I don't think you're givin' Yuge nearly enough credit. If you want my honest opinion, I think—" Joey coughed, his face reddening. "I think he loves you enough to forgive a lot worse."

Serenity looked up slowly, tears suspended like glimmering crystals in her wide olive eyes. "Do you think so?" she whispered, daring to hope. _Joey's known Yugi longer than anyone I know except Téa. If he says it's true..._

Joey gave her a sideways glance, a sly smile on his face. "I got an idea," he said, the blush fading from his cheeks as he stood and grabbed her wrist in his hand. "How 'bout you ask him?"

Serenity's eyes widened and she began to shake her head wildly. "I, I can't, not yet," she protested, stammering unceasingly as Joey relentlessly pulled her down the stairs. "Anyway, he's probably asleep already, and I don't want to just show up at his house, and—"

_Oh, Kami-sama._ Serenity dimly realized she had stopped talking—but it didn't really matter. The excuses she'd been making were null and void anyway, seeing as Yugi was standing right outside her front door.

"Yugi, I—" She blinked back her tears. She never had figured out what she should say the next time they saw each other. Dazedly, her brain noted that Joey had let go of her wrist and disappeared silently back into the house.

Yugi filled the silence with his next words. "Serenity, it's okay," he whispered. Even with the shadows that the street lights were casting on his face, she could still see the kindness in the violet eyes and in every line of the gentle face.

"But, but I—what I said—I didn't—I just—" She knew she was babbling but couldn't seem to stop the stream of nonsense syllables flowing all too effusively from her mouth.

When a flame flicked on suddenly in the darkness, though, her voice died out in spite of itself. _What is he doing? Why does he have a lighter? What..._ Then, even her thoughts trailed off into numb disbelief as she watched the boy she loved in front of her.

The small orange flame of the lighter suddenly burst into a stream of silver light. Glimmering embers wrapped around the wind, showering the ground with iridescent sparks that winked and went out when they touched the pavement. The glow was luminescent without being painfully so; it shone without etching harsh brightness into every line of the world around her. There was little sound at all; just a quiet hissing as the sparks shot out from the end of the stick Yugi held in his hand.

Very suddenly, she realized he had placed the glowing stick into her hand and closed her fingers around the end. "They're sparklers," Yugi said hesitantly, tilting his head to one side, his big eyes fixed on her face, questioning her reaction, pleading with her to like what he'd given her. "They're not like fireworks—not really—but they still give off light and sparks. They just do it... more quietly." He pressed the tip of another stick to the one she now held, and it, too, burst into flame—cyan this time, which bathed them both in a flickering ultramarine light.

Serenity couldn't speak. No words would come, and even if she'd thought of them, getting them around the lump in her throat would prove to be far more than she could manage.

Yugi took her silence for dissatisfaction. "I... I know they're not as good," he said softly, "but... maybe they can stand in—just for this year." Pleading eyes locked onto hers, begging her to smile, to nod—to give some indication that she was happy.

Her sparkler flickered out. She dropped it on the cement, where it lay smoking slightly, and then she gave him the response he was looking for.

She flung her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder and cried.

She heard the soft sputter as Yugi's sparkler went out, and then she felt one of his hands wrap around her back and the other begin to stroke her tangled hair. Despite the pain that was tearing her in two, she reveled in the feeling of being in his arms again. Through her sobs, she choked out, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry, Yugi."

"Hey." His voice was infinitely gentle. "I forgave you the first time—in the store two days ago, okay?" He cupped her chin in his hands, making her look up at him. "I understand, and it doesn't make me love you any less."

Shyly he grazed her forehead with his lips and then brushed a strand of hair from her tearstained face. "Okay?" he repeated, a blush staining his cheeks.

Serenity's heart, so heavy for two days, sprouted wings in her chest. "Okay," she whispered, unable to tear her eyes from his.

Until, that is, he let go of her and handed her another sparkler. "Ready?"

Serenity felt her face break into a giddy smile, and she nodded. "Ready!"

He flicked the lighter, and suddenly the night sky was alight with a rose-colored light. Serenity put the tip of her sparkler to one he held, and indigo and purple sparks joined the pink.

_It's beautiful,_ she managed to think dazedly as she imitated Yugi, waving her sparkler in graceful, swooping arcs and watching as it left a trail of light in the air. _It's so, so beautiful._

"Serenity?"

"Hmm?" she said, looking up at Yugi's face with a smile that mirrored the one that had crept across his lips.

He held his sparkler to the side so he could look directly into her eyes. Gently, he kissed her on the lips as sparks surrounded them in a shower of vibrant, rich, luminescent color.

"Happy Fifth of July."

_Fin_

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Well? What did you think? Please please PLEASE offer me some constructive criticism, whether it be positive or negative. Any and all reviews are appreciated, whether you liked this or hated it. I just need feedback so I know what I'm doing right and, conversely, what I need to be doing better.

Thank you for those of you who've read this, and a double thanks to those who review or have reviewed.

Farewell for the present—

The Authoress, Mittens no Hikari


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